By Dr Andrew Muir, CEO at FarrPoint
In no particular order
The approach to network resilience will start to become more of a theme in 2026.
With ever increasing reliance on digital services in all aspects of our lives and with various telecom switch-offs underway, connectivity resilience will become a stronger priority in 2026. We will need a more coordinated approach from governments and network operators to develop strategies to ensure service continuity and to protect networks from power outages or disruptions to critical transmission links. While organisations delivering digital services need to understand and minimise their connectivity risk.
The reality of new direct to device service offerings will become clearer.
With Ofcom’s ambition to accelerate the introduction of D2D in the UK early in 2026, VMO2 also announcing their plans to launch their ‘O2 Satellite’ service with Starlink, and VodafoneThree partnering with AST SpaceMobile, it will be interesting to see the commercial positioning of these new services. What will be critical for mobile operators is how they plan to commercialise and market their D2D products to consumers. And will the hype surrounding some of its initial capabilities meets the reality of what they will provide and what consumers are willing to pay for this new service.
With continuous conversations over the accuracy of mobile coverage reporting and concerns over the impact of mobile on public safety, 2026 will see the sector moving forward.
There will be more pressure on governments and regulators to improve mobile reporting and performance. We’re hoping to see new initiatives launched in 2026 that focus on coverage and capacity improvements. It will be interesting to see the reaction to mobile consolidation, better spectrum usage and if standalone 5G really makes a difference.
Concerns around sovereignty will likely continue to intensify as geopolitical uncertainty persists.
In response, governments and businesses are likely to seek greater control over data, infrastructure and critical assets. However, how sovereignty translates in an AI-driven world is still not fully clear. The scale, data access, and computing requirements of the increasing use of AI, fundamentally limits how far true digital sovereignty can be achieved without sacrificing performance, innovation or cost efficiencies it offers.
Data centres have been in the news a lot this year, so what about 2026? The levels of interest and activity will continue, but hopefully it will become clearer how we can practically deliver the capacity that is needed.
Will we see grid congestion easing across the UK to free up capacity for data centre projects? And will a market correction begin to level out demand to supply? Let’s see! And as an Edinburgh‑headquartered business, it would be great to see an AIGZ being announced and developed in Scotland. Fingers crossed.
Find out more about Data Centres and what we do in this area.
These are just some of our top predictions from what we’re seeing and hearing from our clients and the wider market.
There’s not doubt there will be more developments in AI, IoT and various other technologies, and of course their growing adoption.
Oh, and let's not forget fibre sensing, as reminded to us all by our friend Jason Presement!
We will be keeping an eye on what happening with telecoms market consolidation, we'll continue to champion the use of data and smart technologies in health, social care and environmental sectors. And we will continue to help our clients shape more digitally inclusive strategies.
Let's see what 2026 actually brings!
FarrPoint is a technology advisory that specialises in digital connectivity. We work with public and private sector clients in the UK and Canada, and have advised them on over 4 bln's worth of connectivity projects to date. See our services here.
Connectivity is important. It drives business and society, bringing communities and commerce together. That's why we use our insight and experience to connect people and business.
.svg){kind=icon}